21-year-old Zella Ziona, a transgender woman from Maryland, was shot and killed in an alley this week while on her way to lay flowers at her grandmother's grave.

Rico Hector Leblond, the 20-year-old suspect in the shooting, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the crime.

Ziona was found alive and conscious when police arrived at the scene, but died at the hospital later that evening.

‘This is a horrific crime and a tragedy for those who knew Zella," said police chief Thomas Manger.

Although it is difficult to get an exact number on how many trans murders there were this year due to how police record the sex of the victims, Zella's death is said to be the 21st of 2015, making it the deadliest year for transgender people on record.

h/t: Gay Star News